It is known to provide a chair assembly having a seat and integral worksurface. This assembly is often referred to as a desk. The worksurface is provided on the chair to provide a surface on which a person may place items and/or provide a working surface, such as a surface for taking notes during a meeting or presentation, etc., while the person is sitting in the chair. The worksurface is conventionally permanently attached to the chair. Thus, the person must remain sitting in the chair to comfortably and properly utilize the worksurface. This limits the person's mobility during a meeting as the worksurface is not mobile. In many meeting rooms, it may be necessary to move about to view demonstrations or exchange communications with others, and the known chairs as described above do not provide flexibility as to permitting use of the worksurface at multiple positions or locations.
Another drawback of known chairs of this type is that the worksurfaces conventionally have a single fixed use position. However, since people vary greatly in size and preferred working positions, most conventional chairs do not allow the worksurface to be adjusted to comfortably accommodate different people.
While some known chairs have a worksurface which pivots from a use position to a storage position adjacent one side of the chair, which storage position allows the chair to be used without the worksurface and improves the ease of entry and exit of a user into and from the chair, nevertheless this type of pivoting capability does not provide for adjustment of the use position of the worksurface for different users.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a chair assembly having a removable worksurface on a chair which allows the user to easily remove the worksurface and use the worksurface when removed from the chair. The removability and portability of the worksurface enables the user to move about a room while carrying and using the worksurface.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple interface between the chair and worksurface which allows the worksurface to be securely but removably attached to the chair and also allows a person to efficiently remove the worksurface without the operation of external devices to effect release of the worksurface from the chair.
A still further object is to provide a chair assembly, as aforesaid, which permits the use position of the worksurface to be readily adjusted.
The present invention relates to a chair assembly which includes a chair and separable worksurface. The worksurface includes a planar tablet mounted on a base which defines a mounting part. The chair includes an arm extending therefrom to support an arm of a person seated in the chair. The chair arm has a pad on its upper surface for supporting a person's arm, and a mounting part for releasably engaging the corresponding mounting part of the worksurface. The mounting part on the chair arm includes a stem which extends beneath the pad, and the mounting part on the worksurface base defines a socket for receiving the stem therein. A releasable securement means holds the stem in the socket such that the worksurface is usable by a person seated in the chair. The releasable securement means permits the worksurface to be separated from the chair such that the worksurface is usable remote from the chair. The securement means includes a ball detent mechanism which cooperates between the stem and the socket.
The tablet, in a preferred embodiment, is pivotable into multiple use positions relative to the base.
Other objects and purposes of this invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with apparatus of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.